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Internet personality Andrew Tate moved to house arrest after court ruling
BUCHAREST (Reuters) -Social media personality Andrew Tate was moved to house arrest late on Friday after a Romanian court overturned prosecutors’ request to keep him in police custody until late April. Tate, his brother Tristan...
The Inspired Teacher: Book buying addiction
Who else has this same compulsion — and a pile of unread books? Let’s start a club. On our last trip to the US last Christmas, I told my wife I had an important appointment. And told my granddaughter to drive me to the Barnes and Noble bookshop. I went like a man on a...
Raisi says hijab is the law in Iran as unveiled women face ‘yoghurt attack’
(Reuters) -President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that the hijab was the law in Iran after a viral video showed a man throwing yoghurt at two unveiled women in a shop near a holy Shi’ite Muslim city. Growing numbers of women have defied authorities by discarding their veils after nationwide protests that followed the death...
Behind The News: Media freedom’s big win
For many years, Fiji’s media operated under imperious rule and struggled under restrictive laws and climate overwhelmed by fear. Under that political environment, humiliation and threats against journalists and the media surfaced, inducing alarm, silence and suspicion. This seemed to mirror reality in the world – that over the past decade the state of media...
Egypt and Syria commit to closer ties as foreign minister visits Cairo
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt and Syria agreed to strengthen cooperation on Saturday during the first official visit by a Syrian foreign minister to Cairo in more than a decade, the latest sign of Arab states mending ties with President Bashar al Assad. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad was embraced by Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry as...
Fiji imports 40,000 tonnes of rice annually
Fiji imports an average of 40,000 metric tonnes of rice annually. While contributing to the debate in the Parliament on the Review Report of the Fiji Rice 2013-2017 Annual Report on Wednesday, Minister for Agriculture Vatimi Rayalu said Fiji mostly import rice from Asian countries with a self-sufficiency level of 17 per cent. “Rice has...
Most of India to face above-normal April-June heat – forecaster
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Most of India will likely experience above-normal high temperatures between April and June, the national weather forecaster said on Saturday. More days than average of heatwave are likely over most parts of central, east, and northwest India during the season, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. In the plains, a temperature...
New FijiFirst MP hits out at Attorney-General
Newly sworn-in FijiFirst parliamentarian Vijendra Lal launched a tirade against Attorney-General Siromi Turaga during his maiden speech in the House on Monday. Mr Lal said the supreme law (2013 Constitution) “dictates that no religion should be given preference in official proceedings in Fiji in any way, shape or form”. “Yet, right from the start of...
Pope Francis leaves hospital, saying ‘I’m still alive’
ROME (Reuters) -Pope Francis left hospital and returned to the Vatican on Saturday after being treated for bronchitis, making light of his illness by saying: “I’m still alive you know”. The pope, 86, was taken to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Wednesday after complaining of breathing difficulties, but responded rapidly to an infusion of antibiotics, his...
First home ownership program ongoing
About $38 million has been paid to 3149 beneficiaries of the First Home Owners Initiative since its inception, says Local Government and Housing Minister Maciu Nalumisa. Speaking in Parliament this week, he said under the program, more than 1800 households had their first homes constructed with the total grant payout exceeding $28m. “About 1200 households...
Elon Musk seeks to end $258 billion Dogecoin lawsuit
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Elon Musk asked a U.S. judge on Friday to throw out a $258 billion racketeering lawsuit accusing him of running a pyramid scheme to support the cryptocurrency Dogecoin. In an evening filing in Manhattan federal court, lawyers for Musk and his electric car company Tesla Inc called the lawsuit by Dogecoin...
Fiji welcomes first group of tourists from Hong Kong
The first group of passengers to arrive from Hong Kong onboard a Fiji Airways flight after three years arrived into the country today. The group of 260 passengers that arrived at the Nadi International Airport early this morning was greeted by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism Viliame Gavoka, Fiji Airways managing director Andre...
Ratu Sakiusa installed as Ratu ni Natauya; ready to serve
Ratu Sakiusa Taukena is the newly installed Ratu ni Natauya of Saivou district in Ra. Ratu Sakiusa was installed in Nanukuloa Village in front of hundreds of people from the five villages he would govern during his reign. After his installation, Ratu Sakiusa said he would rely on his people and his elders to guide...
Hong Kong rejects US report criticising crackdown on freedoms
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong on Saturday “firmly rejected” findings in a new U.S. government report that said U.S. interests had been threatened and that Beijing continued to “undermine” the rule of law and freedoms in the territory under a national security crackdown. The U.S.’ 2023 Hong Kong Policy Act Report, published by the...
Taiwan says 10 Chinese aircraft crossed Taiwan Strait median line
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Ten Chinese aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, normally an unofficial barrier between the two sides, Taiwan’s defence ministry said on Saturday, as Beijing continues its military activities near the island. Nine Chinese fighter jets and one military drone crossed the median line in the 24 hours to 6 a.m....
Chaudhry: Get on with the task of living problems
The Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad should stop this constant moaning about the billions needed to fix national problems and get on with the task of fixing it. Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry said this in his response to Prof Prasad’s ministerial statement in Parliament on Thursday that they were...
In Germany, King Charles honours victims of WWII allied bombings
HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) – King Charles laid a wreath in memory of the victims of the allied bombing in World War Two during a visit to Hamburg’s St Nikolai memorial, the remains of a church in Germany’s northern port city severely damaged by the air raids. The gesture comes on the last day of Charles’...
Ongoing influenza outbreak
Fiji is not isolated to the common influenzas that have affected many since the beginning of this year. Ministry of Health’s permanent secretary Dr James Fong said we had been affected by Influenza A and recently by Influenza B. “But this is a global trend and it’s not Fiji only that is affected,” he said....
UN to start taking deep-sea mining applications this July
(Reuters) – The International Seabed Authority will start accepting applications in July from companies that want to mine the ocean’s floor, a decision that came after the U.N. body spent the past two weeks debating standards for the new and controversial practice. Deep-sea mining would extract cobalt, copper, nickel, and manganese – key battery materials...
‘Government has a lot to do’- Prof Biman
The Coalition Government still has a lot to do in addressing fundamental problems facing the country because of the constraints working within the national budget. National Federation Party and Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad highlighted this while speaking at a party’s working committee meeting in Rakiraki yesterday. He said they would be marking 100...
Johnson & Johnson unit loses bid to stay in bankruptcy during Supreme Court appeal
(Reuters) -A Johnson & Johnson company cannot delay a court order dismissing its bankruptcy, a U.S. court said on Friday, despite the company’s planned Supreme Court appeal to use bankruptcy to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits over its talc products. J&J sought to use the bankruptcy of its subsidiary company, LTL Management, to halt...
Leaders of tomorrow: Palm is a symbol of victory, peace and eternal life – PM Rabuka
Our children will be our leaders of tomorrow. This was highlighted by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in his Palm Sunday message. “As our children wave palm branches to help them connect to the story, today also reminds us that it is Jesus’ first step towards his death and marks the start of Holy Week,” he...
Eleven killed in stampede for food aid in southern Pakistan
KARACHI (Reuters) -Eleven people were killed in a stampede during the distribution of food aid in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Friday, a health official said, one of several such incidents in recent weeks as the country’s economic crisis bites. The dead included five women and three children, police said, while five other...
Prof Biman attacks FijiFirst for its reckless spending
Development partners like Australia, New Zealand and Japan wrote us large cheques for hundreds of millions of dollars to help us pay bills because they knew we needed help. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad said this in his ministerial statement in Parliament yesterday where he attacked the FijiFirst government for its...
Oscar Pistorius: from ‘Blade Runner’ hero to convicted murderer
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Oscar Pistorius, known as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, was denied parole on Friday after he sought early release from prison where he is serving a 13-year sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius, a South African, went from public hero as a Paralympic champion to a convicted...
Work on GCC complex to begin in June – Minister
Work on the Great Council of Chiefs Vale ni Bose complex is scheduled to begin in June this year and should be completed towards the end of 2023, says iTaukei Affairs Minister Ifereimi Vasu. “The basic design and drawings are in the final stage,” he said while speaking in Parliament yesterday during debate on the...
Indian capital to boost COVID-19 testing amid jump in daily cases
(Reuters) – New Delhi will ramp up testing for COVID-19 and encourage the increased use of masks, a local minister said on Thursday, after India recorded its highest daily case count in nearly six months. India recorded 3,016 new cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the federal health ministry said on Thursday,...
PM Rabuka: Ageing ships becoming increasingly expensive to maintain
Ageing ships in the government fleet are becoming increasingly expensive for the state to maintain. Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka highlighted the issue while delivering his ministerial speech in Parliament. “Domestic shipping services are the lifeline for our citizens in outer islands to participate in the life of our nation and our economy,” he said. “With...
Mexican migration officer absent as deadly fire began in cell he supervised, guard says
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Reuters) – The migration officer supervising the men’s unit of a Mexican migrant detention center where a fire claimed 39 lives had left the building shortly before the incident, a private security guard said in an interview with Reuters. Angelica Hinojosa, a security guard at the center, said government migration officers are...
What’s happening today!
Bula vinaka everyone. Here is another edition of some basic information you may need to know for today. First, here is your weather forecast for today: Weather: Cloudy periods with brief showers over greater Suva/Nausori-Tailevu area, interior Serua-Namosi, Naitasiri, and interior Nadroga/Navosa. Lau and Lomaiviti group and Cakaudrove Elsewhere, fine apart from afternoon or evening...
